Air Serbia outlines Chicago, China and long-haul leisure development


Air Serbia is gearing for the launch of its third long-haul service to Chicago, expansion into China, as well as the arrival of its third wide-body aircraft this year. In an interview for EX-YU Aviation News, the company’s CEO, Jiri Marek, spoke about Air Serbia’s immediate long-haul development plans. Commenting on the upcoming three weekly service to Chicago, Mr Marek noted, “What we can see from the initial bookings, if we look at the current booked load factor, is that it is higher for Chicago than New York. Keeping in mind that there is more capacity on the New York service, it is natural to have a higher booked load on Chicago, however we consider it a very positive surprise because it is a newly launched route, while JFK has already matured. At the moment, we can see there is more point-to-point traffic, but it is still early to make further conclusions although it was expected, due to the significant Serbian diaspora in the Chicago area. As we move forward, we expect further bookings from the region to pick up more, as well. In general, Chicago is set to have a higher point-to-point share than New York. On top of that, I would like to mention the added value of having two gateways in the US and our extensive partnership with American Airlines, as well as with jetBlue, creates many more options and multiple combinations of itineraries for passengers. You can go from US domestic points in one direction via New York and back via Chicago or vice versa, which would further support additional incremental bookings”.

The carrier has made no secret of its plans to introduce flights to Beijing and Shanghai, however, the application process for Chinese permissions may slow down the addition of these two destinations into its network. “The application process for permits and slots for destinations in China is complex and lengthy, and many airports are facing infrastructure congestions and constraints”, Mr Marek said. Asked which of the two mega cities would be introduced first, the CEO noted, “We will be applying for both, but we will not have much influence on whether it will be Beijing or Shanghai first. Shanghai might make more sense in terms of long-term demand forecast. On the other hand, Beijing has a big catchment area as a capital. At the moment, we believe we can serve both, but which one will come first and where we will be able to secure the necessary operation permits is still to be seen. Even with Tianjin we are currently still getting a lot of delays regarding necessary permissions for the summer season. Based on experience with the application process for permission for Tianjin, we can assume the process will be similar for Beijing and Shanghai, and we don’t expect permission to be granted before Q4 2023”.


Commenting on its one weekly Tianjin service launched last December, Mr Marek said, “The future of Tianjin will definitely depend on those two cities [Beijing and Shanghai]. At the moment, Tianjin is working well. Flights are full and we will see how it will perform in the summer season. Currently, we are still waiting for permission for the summer season and flights are on sale with this notice, and since we are only one month away from the start of the summer season, we expect to receive permissions soon. However, this only goes to illustrate how complex the process is. Once we get permission for Beijing and Shanghai, we will keep Tianjin for some time to see how it will be impacted, and, if there is demand, there is no reason for us to stop Tianjin. Potentially, we may increase the service to two flights a week. We are targeting two weekly flights to Beijing, two weekly flights to Shanghai, and two weekly flights to Tianjin. Again, it will be possible to combine those gateways and create a much better portfolio because we will target each of them on different days”. Mr Marek added that Air Serbia is trying to negotiate a codeshare with Hainan Airlines, which maintains a weekly flight between Beijing and Belgrade.

The airline’s initial plan to introduce long-haul leisure services this winter was influenced by market conditions at the time these flights were being considered. However, Mr Marek explains the airline is experiencing a strong winter season and that while long-haul leisure routes are of interest to the airline, they are no longer a priority. “We proved during Covid that we are an agile company and that we can capitalise on the opportunities on the market. We are committed to staying that way. Historically, we always had a problem with the low season in winter, without any difference between long-haul and short haul. However, this winter season is very specific and we were brave to put up a massive schedule, in order to maintain high connectivity options. It has paid off very well and we are continuing our record-breaking performance during the winter season. Even now, in February, to-date we have a 70% load factor, which we have never had in the past and moreover few airlines in our peer group are achieving such results. In addition, revenue is still outperforming 2019 levels and it is further supported by several promotional campaigns on certain routes. We can disclose that our revenue is still two digits over 2019 levels. If you disregard charters, there is much less of a difference between summer and winter than it used to be in the past. In the future, that will give us more options to build stronger long-haul winter schedules, as well”, the CEO said.

Turning to long-haul network development in winter, Mr Marek, said, “In the past, our problem was a heavy summer schedule for our long-haul operations, while we had a single wide-body aircraft. Now we have two. We always had six weekly New York flights in the summer and two in the winter, which economically is not overall good business. This winter, due to improved connectivity, we increased New York to three weekly flights for the first time and it worked. This means that now, together with China, with a more even seasonality and the extra benefit of the Lunar New Year, there may be less necessity to look towards alternative leisure routes, especially with Beijing and Shanghai coming soon. In addition, you will always have maintenance activities planned during the winter season”. He added, “For us leisure destinations will be more opportunistic, and by that, I mean niche destinations, not the strategic ones. For example, there is high demand for Bangkok during winter, however due to overcapacity on that market, we might achieve full flights but not profitable ones due to low yield, as there is strong competition from Middle East carriers. However, we will be looking at winter leisure destinations. Obviously, we would work a lot with tour operators. In the past, we were looking at Mombasa or Zanzibar and some other options, but this will always be in synergy between us and the tour operators. The market is growing, and the leisure segment is maturing so, sooner or later, it may happen but it is not a priority for the time being”.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    Bravo Air Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Very interesting. So I guess PEK/PVG will start at the beginning of winter 2023/24.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Wonder if YU-ARD is still coming in June/July or if they will push it back a bit because of it. I suppose they could place it on a few European routes during the summer season

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      They might push it back but not by much. Remember it usually takes more than a month for them to put a plane into service once it arrives in BEG.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL12:24

      @09,11

      The arrival of the 3rd aircraft doesn't necessarily have to coincide with the launch of another Chinese route. They could end up initially using that capacity for a number of routes around Europe this summer as was the case last year. JFK is expected to be daily, if ORD bookings go well, that too could be boosted to 4 pw, while a second Chinese route could launch once frequencies start to drop on the TATL routes.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    Not surprised that Chicago has more P2P traffic. I mean it has the largest Serbian population outside Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      I'm surprised that ORD didn't start first before JFK.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      The idea with JFK is that it has a greater catchment and attracts more people from the entire region.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:45

      Chicago having more people of Serbian origin than Novi Sad for example, is a myth! Change my mind.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:02

      It's a well known fact. Using census data is not reliable due to the way the questions are made and the way the answers are categorized, which in most cases fail to take note of your ethnic origin.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:53

      If it is a FACT, then there would be an official document to prove it. So, I would not call it a fact, but rather a legend or a myth.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:54

      Yes, it's a myth there is a large Serbian population in Chicago area. That's why there is so little point to point traffic I guess. Marek is probably making things up. Anon above knows best.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:00

      Of course it is a myth. More Serbs live, for example, in nearby Ohio than in Chicago and its surroundings. Chicago is a major traffic intersection. JAT also flew to Detroit and Cleveland more than Chicago.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:33

      No one said there are no Serbs in Chicago, a lot of them, but more than 300k? No way. Official data shows much less than 100k

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:32

      Before 2016 JFK and YYZ had similar passenger numbers to BEG. JFK numbers jumped once direct service started.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    Does this mean that the third A330 won't arrive before China or they will take in summer and start something else?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Maybe they start YYZ :P

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:22

      Or Miami :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:41

      Both will come sooner or later.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:47

      Hope so

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:25

      The air deal between Serbia and Canada was negotiated for a reason so it would make sense that it is Toronto.

      Delete
    6. Prepelica11:30

      Or Lagos? :)

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:04

      Actually and thruthfully Lagos would probably make a better business case than YYZ ; if it was to be tried I would give Lagos priority.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:31

      That is ridiculous thing to write.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:41

      That is beyond ridiculous comment. Lagos over YYZ? You must be really hating YYZ for whatever personal reason you have. Did Canada deny your tourist visa maybe?

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    "Even now, in February, to-date we have a 70% load factor,"

    wow. That's very good for February

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Especially when you consider that they expanded capacity by a large margin and still managed to improve their load factor.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      Yes that is pretty good for February. Seems people are travelling

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:09

    Dear Mr Marek you really did well so far in improving the numbers! It is now time to start improving the quality of services and customer satisfaction overall. That means flights on time, attentive and motivated staff, responsive customer service, good looking and clean plane cabins, good catering offerings just to name a few...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:03

      Agree. They need to focus more on their onboard service and experience.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:10

    "we were looking at Mombasa or Zanzibar and some other options"

    Interesting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Yes, but doesn't seem it will happen anytime soon. Which makes sense. I think their A330s will be fully operational next winter.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:59

      Something like this requires some planning to give time for the tour operators to prepare the product and enable the people to purchase in advance.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:26

      The leisure winter long haul charters do not have to be every single week or several times per week. You can have one flight every two weeks for example. LOT uses its B787 to operate winter charters to various places.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:13

    Does this mean 3rd plane won't arrive before end of the year?

    "Based on experience with the application process for permission for Tianjin, we can assume the process will be similar for Beijing and Shanghai, and we don’t expect permission to be granted before Q4 2023”."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:13

    I'm surprised they're not even considering Hong Kong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Maybe there is not a lot of demand

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      I remember in some articles in the past, Hong Kong actually had quite healthy indirect traffic.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:31

      Hong Kong is a good transfer point to the rest of China too.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:04

      As well as Southern China, the most industrial area.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:05

      Especially they won't have to deal with so much bureaucracy when starting flights to Hong Kong.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:25

    This is good to read. I'm happy Chicago is performing well this early with sales.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:26

    Not surprised at all with it taking time to get China permit. Their bureaucracy is notoriously slow and they require the same amount of documentation as US FAA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Maybe they could speed it up by engaging the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in order ro get the permits sooner. Since Serbia has good ties with China that avenue could help,

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      It has little to do with relationships. It's just a process that takes time and has always been that way regardless of the country.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:26

    Regarding long haul leisure, it makes sense that it could be a filler from time to time to deploy capacity in winter. It is encouraging to read that the market is growing and more people are traveling.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:28

    Videćemo mi izgleda i četvrti nedeljni let za ORD ovog leta, Nadam se da imaju obezbeđene slotove. LF od 70% tokom zime je i više nego obećavajući. Na dobrom su putu da ove godine po prvi put prebace 80% što im je bio glavni cilj od rebrendiranja.Uzbudljivo leto je pred nama.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nemjee09:32

    I travel between Serbia and the US roughly twice a year. I always check JU first and their code-shares never worked for me. Issue is that they have too few morning departures from BEG to JFK so you end up missing a great deal of flights out of New York.
    The other day I booked a flight from BEG to SFO and the only reason why I didn't do it with JU was because of the odd schedule on the way back. I was even ready to move my trip by a day in order to work around their schedule.

    AA SFO-JFK 11.01-19.40
    JU JFK-BEG 19.30-10.20

    Total travel time: 38 hours and 19 minutes.
    Decent connections from SFO to BEG are only offered twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays. This is not very competitive. Strange that they didn't offer any via ORD with AA since they have a major hub over there.

    It is not uncommon for them to be selling flights from other points in the US with a total travel time exceeding 30 hours. Compared to their competition and especially Lufthansa Group, this is not extremely competitive. If I were them I would rather focus on offering connections via BEG to the US at least until they secure a code-share agreement either with AA or B6 and until they have better connectivity.

    As for China, will be interesting to see what happens there. Fares overall have come down. For example, OS now offers BEG-PVG for 1.000 Euros (luggage included). Up until recently they used to charge around €2.000 one way.
    With more and more flights between Europe and China, fares will inevitably have to come down.
    JU on the other hand can profit from a healthy amount of O&D which tend to be higher-yielding than transfers. I noticed their China flights have also become cheaper. Now you can find one way fares for less than €400.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      Out of curiosity, who did you book to SFO?

      Delete
    2. Nemjee09:42

      I went with KLM in the end. I decided to give them a try. They have a really good connection from BEG with the 05.50 departure.
      On the way back I am flying out of Sacramento via MSP and AMS. DL to AMS on the A330.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:47

      Nice, KLM is a good airline.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:04

      Regarding China, have Hainan's fares to Beijing changed and come down?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:06

      KLM is good but in my opinion AF is even better and definitively less stingy than the Dutch.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee10:07

      Anon 09.47 I heard only good things about them so I am looking forward to the experience.

      Anon 10.04 I think they have. Now you can buy a one way ticket for roughly €530.

      Air China has been in expansion mode lately. They restored a whole bunch of destinations. The other day they announced the resumption of PEK-FCO as 4 weekly on the A350 and have upgraded PVG-FRA from A350 to B77W.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:16

      It is interesting that LO doesn't fly to Shanghai.

      Delete
    8. Nemjee10:52

      Without Siberian overflight rights, making WAW-PVG would be extremely difficult. I read the other day of EU carriers complaining how Chinese carriers are profiting from these flights and harming their business prospects.
      Don't forget that the Ukrainian airspace is also closed so LO would have to fly towards Romania, south of Crimea and then straight to China. This would add at least an hour flying time.... if not more.

      Given BEG's southern location, there is no need to overfly Russia. This allows JU to become extremely competitive on the Europe-China market. However, they would still have to compete with TK, EK and QR which have been in turbo expansion mode in China. Recently EK brought back their A380 to HKG while QR boosted their flights from 7 to 11 weekly.

      Air Serbia could be even more competitive if they had an effective commercial department which they unfortunately don't seem to have. At least geopolitical developments are making their life easier.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:58

      One option for JU to consider would be Hong Kong.

      Delete
    10. Nemjee11:10

      Thing with HKG is that it is all the way to the south so Europeans are much more competitive there. On top of that add Turks and Arabs and you get a crowded playing field.
      JU's best short-term solution would be to aggressively expand in PEK. This is where their biggest advantage is.

      This morning Spain and France reported their inflation numbers and they are on the rise. The war in Ukraine is damaging the European economy meaning these sanctions will not be a long-term solution simply because they can't be. Air Serbia should realize this and act accordingly.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous12:00

      Nemjee, have you ever flew BEG-JFK with JU?

      How's the service?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous12:02

      I've flown with them many times on this route. It is fine. Regular European style of service in economy and a bit above average in business.

      Delete
    13. Nemjee12:16

      I've actually never flown with them but from what I heard food and the seatpitch are good, IFE quite bad. Crew is also hit or miss.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous12:18

      Always an excuse 😂

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:32

    Weren't some people in the comments writing here that soon they will have 4 A330s in the fleet? To me it seems this year will end with 3 A330-200s. Unless they surprise us with some North America routes this summer while they wait for China.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL12:37

      The 4th A330 is in the plans and some preparations have began. Marek mentioned last summer that the ideal number would be 5 A330's. Personally, I don't think that the 4th A330 will arrive this year and I don't think they'll stop at 5.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:42

      Personally, there were many personal opinions that 3rd A330 would not arrive and it did.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:37

    Good luck JU! Good work so far

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:38

    A year ago, few people thought we would be talking about Air Serbia starting Chicago and two routes in China. Overall I'm happy with their renewed focus on long haul.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:27

      And back then people were complaining there would not be long haul expansion :D

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:41

    Hopefully the AA interline turns into a codeshare eventually.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      Is there any difference for passengers?

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:52

    If they had a good LF in February like they say, how many passenger could they have handled this month?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous09:58

    I hope the ORD turns out to work well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      In order to become a serious player JU in the US needs to have a daily flight to ORD as well

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:00

    Shanghai should be their top China destination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      They say they will launch whichever one they get the permit for first.

      Delete
  22. Ozbiljno nastojanje i ostvarenje projektovanih linija i frekfenci, materjalizuju ambiciju Er Srbiji rast i veliko uvecanje ove nacionalne kompanije Srbije. Sto se tice sporijeg procesa dobijanja letova za Kinu, indicira da bi
    aplikacija trebala biti upucena nekoliko meseci ranije.
    Da bi se moglo leteti od pocetka pune sezone. Komercijalna sluzba i prosirenje saradnje sa putnickim agencijama ce biti krucijalno. Za rast i uspeh preporodjene Er Srbije. Koja ce prevazici sve postignuto u zadnjih blizu sto godina. Svi potezi u skorije vreme indiciraju na pozitivan zakljucak. Uz iskrene zelje, srecan pocetak letnje sezone, Srpskom avio prevozniku Air Serbia. 🛫🇷🇸🛫🌐✈
    Rodney Marinkovic and Aviation Enthusiast Associate Group 🇷🇸♥️🛫🌐✈

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:27

    Exciting times!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:28

    Two weekly to each destination in China as Marek suggest would be perfect. 2x Shanghai, 2X Beijing and 2X Tianajin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:28

      ** Tianjin that is

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:30

      And if Tianjin doesn't work out after they launch Beijing and Shanghai, they can add one extra weekly flight to each destination as a replacement.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:35

      They should consider a destination in Southern China or Hong Kong.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous10:38

    Still wondering if they will fly to Daxing Airport or Beijing Capital.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:41

      Daxing is even closer to Tianjin than Beijing Capital.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:48

      I'm assuming Beijing Capital due to better connectivity with rest of China.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous10:42

    They really need to join an alliance if they want more US flyers and destinations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:48

      ASAP

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:55

      Marek said that it was not their priority at the moment.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL12:53

      Joining an alliance doesn't guarantee much. Just look at LOT who have a decent long haul network while not included into the TATL JV with it's Star Alliance partners. It's as if LOT is the unwanted step child of the alliance. OU is also in Star Alliance and I don't see how their membership is benefiting them. RO also in SkyTeam.

      Oneworld is missing a carrier in this part of Europe where JU could be benefitial to the alliance. Plus side for JU is the lack of a competing One World member in the region. Downside is that JU has the worst connectivity to One World hubs out of the 3 major alliance hubs. JU can't get extra slots into LHR, while any connections via LHR to anything not US or Canada requires transit visas, effectively limiting options. MAD is this summer being boosted to 3 pw which isn't much. JU however has more ties to SkyTeam members, more frequencies to SkyTeam hubs, more codeshares with SkyTeam airlines. Then again, JU is looking to enter a JV with TK which is a Star Alliance member. This is perhaps why it's better to stay out of an alliance for now.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:42

    This sounds promising and I expect to see new long haul destinations by the end of the year (other than ORD)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:49

    Good job JU. This CEO knows what he is doing.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous11:23

    Why do AA dont came in Serbia, for flight from Belgrade to JFK ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:27

      You already have Air Serbia flying the route daily in summer.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:42

      I think he meant, Why doesn't AA make flights from JFK to Belgrade?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:52

      And I told you why. Or you expect there should be double daily flights and a market for it.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:38

      And because AA is a private owned airline so they can't afford staying with a loss making route for at least 2 years .

      Delete
    5. JATBEGMEL13:02

      American airline companies chase after higher yields not just high CLF. BEG isn't a high yield market. With JU already on the BEG-JFK market with decent frequencies there isn't much left for another airline to enter the market.

      BUD-JFK isn't being served by any American airline companies and LOT has recently pulled out of the route. One would think that BUD would be served.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:24

      AA very slim chance to start BEG. Delta maybe.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous13:41

    Q3 2023 with 3 x A330 means daily JFK, 3xORD and 1xTSN. Approvals for PEK and PVG will not arrive before Q4, leaving available and unused capacity. Is it too late to announce Toronto for this summer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:15

      They won't start Toronto this year. Period.

      Delete
    2. JATBEGMEL14:21

      Exactly. Lots of unused capacity which never gets used on European sectors. Except maybe SVO...and BCN...and IST...and ZRH...and CDG...and TGD.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:47

      Widebody for additional short haul capacity vs launching high demand long haul route (called top priority 2yrs ago by AV)? You learn something new every day. Thanks

      Delete
    4. JATBEGMEL15:36

      And launching long haul routes is as simple as launching short haul routes or adding capacity to high demand destinations already in the network. You learn something new everyday. Thanks

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:52

      +1

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:59

      JATBEGMEL we both know Toronto was in the works for years. Bilateral was ready in 2018. Toronto airport mentioned being contacted by Air Serbia during Kondic years. Reps from both countries called the route top prority 2 years ago. Lets keep the conversation factual amd civil

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:39

      Yes there is big conspiracy ongoing against the launch of highly anticipated Toronto

      Delete
    8. JATBEGMEL17:42

      YYZ in fact has been in the plans since 2002 when it was first scheduled with the DC10. Then again in 2006 with the B762.

      Talks have been with Iran, Kazakhstan, recently Georgia, bilaterals signed with India. I think Japan and/or Korea as well. All done before the Canadian bilaterals. Just saying. Factual and civil.

      Despite JU wanting to serve Canada, the Canadian side doesn't have an attractive offer and JU has options. Naturally YYZ is being sidelined for a later date and JU is going after better options. I think it's pretty straight forward and doesn't need daily trolling.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:22

      My response addressed issue of launching long haul not being simple. We know launching Toronto is not simple but Air Serbia had a lot of time and already made a lot of effort. None of that prep work went into launching Kazakhstan and others. It is not trolling if facts are used to point out Toronto was already a priority until it was yanked out. Toronto not being mentioned in the interview speaks volumes. PEK and PVG might have had better offers in terms of airport and NAV charges buth their permission is still not ready.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous20:37

      To clarify last point: third A330 was being procured primarily for Beijing or Shanghai flights. Not being able to use it for that purpose until Q4 is hardly an attractive offer.

      Delete
    11. JATBEGMEL00:15

      YYZ isn't that much further down the line in terms of preparations compared to for example Kazakhstan. There isn't much prep work to be done for Kazakhstan for example due to the much shorter flying distances compared to YYZ, economics of the route is different. Astana is a 5 hour flight from BEG and can be done on current narrowbodies when ever they want, YYZ not so much. I'm not advocating for JU to launch Astana, but it doesn't seem a lot more has been achieved with YYZ. It's already been mentioned several times that ORD gave JU the better offer than YYZ, so what's more to say? Nobody has said that YYZ is no longer the priority, it simply isn't the top priority especially if others are giving better offers. Full flights don't equal profit so what advantage does JU have in YYZ that it's missing out on? Cargo? Canadian partners? Canadian transfers and with which carrier? Codeshares? How does YYZ compliment the JU North American their network? What is the transfer potential with YYZ? What is the estimated profit per YYZ flight? What is the estimated expenses per flight?

      Even if the 3rd A330 does arrive in June or July as was previously mentioned, however not confirmed unless you personally know otherwise, it's peak summer season in BEG and that aircraft certainly ain't sitting on ground in BEG. Chinese routes are able to be fully booked within 48 hours as we saw with TSN, so a last minute route launch isn't a problem, the same cannot be said with the best of the TATL routes. Q4 starts while summer demand is coming to an end so the timing is still ok.

      And yes, it's definitely trolling when ignoring the facts that were presented as to why YYZ is on hold while repeating the same comments on a near daily basis. Simply what YYZ has to offer isn't great enough for JU to be rushing in with top priority.

      Delete
    12. JATBEGMEL00:50

      Oh, and then we have this:

      https://simpleflying.com/toronto-pearson-international-airport-peak-hour-flight-cap/

      One of the most, if not, the most expensive airports in the world (which was also voted amongst the worlds worst major airports), wants to introduce peak hour caps during the peak travel seasons.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous04:59

      In my opinion you are never going to get a better offer from YYZ.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous14:01

      Luckily for everyone here, I work at YYZ for the Airport Authority.
      There is so much misinformation and invalid opinions on this forum that it's just incredible. First of all, if YYZ was not profitable for an airline, it would not have every major airline flying into it from Europe, Asia, Middle East, etc. including 4 new low cost local companies who chase profits, not to mention Porter Airlines who opened up a new base and moved from Billy Bishop Airport. Second, you are all forgetting that YYZ is one of the most underserved destinations for BEG. Third, the seasonality part everyone keeps talking about is no longer an issue as the shoulder season for the fall 2022 and now in February have been insane with high load factors across all airlines. All of the YU diaspora is packing LOT and TK flights when they could be using JU.
      Air Serbia did in fact file for slots in 2019 and did not go through with it due to COVID, at this time they have not expressed interest or filed slots for the summer, hopefully they will soon.
      Also to clarify JU already has interline agreement with Air Canada already for years which would feed the route. Therefore, as the bi-lateral is already in place and interline agreement with the biggest Canadian carrier, it is really not complicated to start-up an airline with the biggest challenge being marketing the flight and legal/contracts. We are capable of on-boarding and integrating new airlines within several weeks from the intent to operate time into airport systems, in addition to assistance of multiple GHA's who operate and handle the flight on the ground without any requirement for airline representation.
      Hope this info helps, and to see JU at YYZ soon.

      Cheers :)

      Delete
    15. Anonymous14:55

      Thank you for this info. Airport is not the problem, Air Serbia decision to avoid Toronto is the problem. Please let us know if and when they file for slots.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous16:27

      You guys will be the first to know lol, I am also asking our teams on daily basis if they filed or not lol

      Delete
  31. Anonymous13:53

    Interesting how Wizz Air keeps on putting pressure on them. This morning they brought to BEG HA-LZO an 11 year old A321neo.
    It arrived from FMM and is now flying to MMX.

    Lucky passengers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:13

      Yeah so lucky to be packed like a sardine in 240 seater narrow-body plane

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:08

      I love Wizz Air!

      Delete
  32. Jasmineeeeeee!!! Sa' ima? Kaka je bila kahva danas? Sa' je bilo za marendu? Dje cemo na godisnji? To su pitanja svih pitanja, ne tamo neki Cikazi i lonholovi. Masala!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:10

      PiR ne moj napegat coveka, on je naucio " samo opusteno" kao sto kod nas kazu... Tebi svaka cast, iskreno voleo bih da se upoznamo nekako ali ne moj gubiti zivce zbog budala!... I nasi nisu nista bolji, sad malo rade na adrenalinu ali sve je to spolja gladac unutra jadac. Pozdrav!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:24

      Well I can't say that JU is spolja gladac unutra jadac. Since covid they have been a relatively well run business that is moving in the right direction.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous20:06

    There are 500,000 plus people of Serbian Origin living in Chicago Metro Area. Official data can be seen on in Chicago City Hall, go and visit yourself. These are all generations of Yugoslavs, Montenegrins and Serbs included in one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous22:23

      What really matters is how many passengers fly between two cities.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous22:23

    I notice they have not opened booking for Chicago and NYC after October 2023. I am curious when they will do that. I assume they fly all year to and from these destinations.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous10:51

    Iznenadila sam se za ORD pre YYZ. Nije mi licno bilo pravo jer smatram da Toronto treba da startuje sto pre. Medjutim, sa poslovne strane, ovo je odlican potez. Toronto Pearson je u haosu, preskup je, neorganizovan i inertan. Ako ne dobiju dobre slotove ne mogu da ostvare profit. Medjutim, imala sam priliku da putujem svakih 2-3 meseca BEG-YYZ i avioni su prepuni, karte su skupe. Lufthansa i Air Canada su dobro povezani a ovog leta sam uspela da nadjem kartu za oko 1,000 kanadskih dolara, sto je neverovatno. Da ima mogucnosti za direktan let BEG-YYZ ja bih cesce isla i dovela bih vise rodbine, to je sigurno. Pre raspada YU postojali su letovi za Kanadu, ali sada je povecan broj nasih ljudi tamo i vece su mogucnosti za popunu letova. Kako bi bilo mozemo znati samo kad startuju, sve ostalo su projekcije i pretpostavke. Ja im zelim puno uspeha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59

      A gde živiš?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:48

      Toronto Pearson kao sam aerodrom nije u haosu jer zgrada funkcionise sasvim solidno. Problem je trenutno sa najvecim avio kompanijama kao sto je Air Canada jer nemaju dovoljno ljudi da radi za minimalne plate.Trenutna situacija u celoj avio industriji je ista jer jer nestasica radne snage za kabinsko osoblje ukljucujuci i pilote a kamoli za radnike na aerodromima. Svi hoce jeftine karte a niko nece da radi za male pare i to je sistematski problem avio industrije. Zaboravljate da i vecina evropskih aerodroma prolazi kroz istu situaciju, na primer Amsterdam koji jos uvek ogranicava broj putnika i letova zbog nedostatka radne snage. Vas komentar da je aerodrom preskup stvarno ne znam na cemu je baziran kad ste nasli kartu za 1000$ sto kontradiktuje vas komentar. Pozdrav.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous12:43

    When are you flying direct to Toronto just as many Serbs and ex yugos in the southern Ontario region if not more then Chicago definitely more then New York come on!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:38

      According to 2021 Canada Census, between Serbians, Croatians and Bosnian declarations , there are over 300,000 people plus the ones that did not do the Census or are on work/student visas in addition to other EX-YU and Balkan region nationalities, therefore there is a huge demand for JU to fill up the plane for point to point traffic, and for regional connections to Tirana, Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest etc.

      Delete
  37. Anonymous07:36

    Los Angeles or Vancouver

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:40

      Vancouver will never happen. 60% of Canadian population lives in Ontario and Quebec regions. There is no logic to your comment.

      Delete

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